Stem Cell Transplant

• Stem Cell Transplant Rotation Summary
• BMT Handbook - Introduction

After completion of the rotation, the residents will be able to understand the basic concepts, benefits and risks of stem cell transplantation, and the clinical care of children who are receiving transplants and are immune compromised. The residents are also expected to gain additional knowledge in the care of sick children with multisystem disease.

The use of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) as a therapeutic modality has been well established. It is the treatment of choice for patients who have aplastic anemia, acute myeloid leukemia and chronic myeloid leukemia with matched sibling donors. It also provides a chance for cure for certain patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin lymphoma, solid tumors and marrow failure syndromes. For patients with hematolymphoid illnesses such as thalassemia or congenital immunodeficiencies, HSCT provides the only hope for cure at this time. The value and effectiveness of transplant remains to be proven for patients with sickle cell disease, metabolic storage diseases, some cancers, and other genetic disorders.

Newer approaches like umbilical cord blood transplantation, peripheral stem cell collection, early progenitor cell purification, purging of stem cells to remove contaminating tumor cells, immunomodulation for control of graft-versus-host disease and graft-versus-tumor effect, and better supportive care have improved the outlook for many of our patients.